Hator’s American Idols Live Tour 2009 Manchester Recap

I arrived at the venue feeling a little like Dorothy landing in Oz’”I had gotten in from Sacramento late the night before and hadn’t slept because I was so nervous and excited. Since this was my first concert of my life (at age 61), I really didn’t know what to do or what to expect. I went to the barricades first and found out what everyone has said on this blog, fans are just plain nice. They adopt rookies and show them the ropes. I ended up with the Adam Lambert fans of the famed, oversized animal print bra. They had turned it inside out and were printing a message for Adam on the inside of the bra. They told me who people were at the barricades, pointed out Kris Allen’s wife when she arrived, and generally kept me entertained with their knowledge. Two Gokey fans and their cousin who hadn’t watched the show took me to dinner.

When we got into the venue, I bought an Adam Lambert shirt, two glow lights, a program, and a bottle of water. Before I could even open it, the water got knocked down the rows by a woman taking her seat. I remembered to keep the program propped up so it wouldn’t get soaked after reading about that from another fan. I gave one of my glowsticks to the girl who was sitting next to me with her mother.

I couldn’t say anything about the show that hasn’t been said before. The most amazing thing for me was feeling the sound, in addition to hearing it. I had only watched the Adam numbers and DSB on YouTube and wasn’t certain what I would think of the rest of the show. It’s been said a hundred times, but everyone is better live. I didn’t think Adam could get better, but I stood in total shock during the twenty minutes he was on stage. After it was over, I would have gone on the witness stand and testified that it was only a minute because that’s how long it seemed. I loved the interaction with Allison in Slow Ride. I thought I was tired of Mad World until I heard it live. During Starlight, the girl sitting next to me pushed me into the aisle to take a picture. Apparently I had been standing there with the camera raised, but couldn’t seem to focus. She whispered keep walking forward and just take a picture. I do now understand all of the epic Twitpic failures. I have more pictures of peoples’ heads than I do the Idols! I will stick to the ones that MJ took. The Bowie number is just fun!

My favorite moment of the show had to be DSB. The total JOY on that stage was worth all the money and energy to get there. Watching them play and laugh and be silly was priceless. I would have missed the aftershow, but the same girl said ‘Go this way.’  Now I was Alice following the White Rabbit and being led to the great toss away of treasures. Seeing the guys in a group hug made me cry.

I went back to the barricades, Sarver, Gokey, and Scott came out. Allison sprinted across the parking lot and was immediately surrounded by fans. I didn’t get to see Adam Lambert, but I was totally okay with it. The show was absolutely worth it, and I imagined how I would feel if this was the last time I was going to be with my friends and wanting to spend a little alone time with them. I met more friendly people and they asked if I had someone to walk with back to my car when they found I was traveling alone.

This was the first concert of my life, but not the last! I will be there at Adam’s solo concert. I won’t wait until the last minute to buy the tickets. I said to a friend that most people do ‘inner child’  therapy. Adam was my ‘inner teenager’  therapy, and boy did I have fun!!!
Thanks MJ for this blog. It’s been my entertainment since a story appeared in the Sacramento Bee about it in March. It was only through the comments on here that I had the courage to do this. The reminders about earplugs saved my hearing so a big thanks. I’ll keep checking in to see what’s happening with everyone and to get my Adam fix.

About mj santilli 34829 Articles
Founder and editor of mjsbigblog.com, home of the awesomest fan community on the net. I love cheesy singing shows of all kinds, whether reality or scripted. I adore American Idol, but also love The Voice, Glee, X Factor and more!